Electrochromic (EC) materials are a subset of the family of chromogenic materials, which includes photochromic materials, and thermochromic materials. These are materials that change their tinting level or opacity when exposed to light photochromic), heat (thermochromic) or electricity (electrochromic). Chromogenic materials have attracted widespread interest in applications relating to the transmission of light.
An early application for chromogenic materials was in sunglasses or prescription eyeglasses that darken when exposed to the sun. Such photochromic materials were first developed by researchers at Corning Incorporated in the late 1960s. Since that time, it has been recognized that chromogenic materials could potentially be used to produce window glass that can vary the amount of light transmitted, although the use of such materials is clearly not limited to that prospective application. Indeed, EC technology is already employed in the displays of digital watches.
Several different distinct types of EC materials are known. The primary three types are inorganic thin films, organic polymer films, and organic solutions. For many applications, the use of a liquid material is inconvenient, and as a result, inorganic thin films and organic polymer films appear to be more industrially applicable.
For inorganic thin film based EC devices, the EC layer is typically tungsten oxide (WO3). U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,598,293; 6,005,705; and 6,136,161 describe an inorganic thin film EC device based on a tungsten oxide EC layer. Other inorganic EC materials, such as molybdenum oxide, are also known. While many inorganic materials have been used as EC materials, difficulties in processing and slow response time associated with many inorganic EC materials have created the need for different types of EC materials.
Conjugated, redox-active polymers represent one different type of EC material. These polymers (cathodic or anodic polymers) are inherently electrochromic and can be switched electrochemically or chemically between different color states. A family of redox-active copolymers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,220. Another family of nitrogen based heterocyclic organic EC materials is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,923. Research into still other types of organic film EC materials continues, in hopes of identifying or developing EC materials that will be useful in EC windows. There still exists room for improvement and development of new types of EC organic polymer films, and methods of making EC organic polymer films. For example, it would be desirable to develop EC organic polymer films and methods for making the same that provide certain desirable properties, such as specific colors, long-term stability, rapid redox switching, and large changes in opacity with changes of state.
To make an EC device that exhibits different opacities in response to a voltage, a multilayer assembly is required. In general, the two outside layers of the assembly are transparent electronic conductors. Within the outside layers is a counter-electrode layer and an EC layer, between which is disposed an ion conductor layer. When a low voltage is applied across the outer conductors, ions moving from the counter-electrode to the EC layer cause the assembly to change color. Reversing the voltage moves ions from the EC layer back to the counter-electrode layer, restoring the device to its previous state. Of course, all of the layers are preferably transparent to visible light. While some configurations of counter-electrodes are known, it would be desirable to provide additional counter-electrode configurations, to facilitate the development of new and improved EC devices.
While EC windows, or smart windows as they are sometimes called, are expected to represent a significant commercial application of EC technology, one additional potential use of an EC is in producing displays, sometimes referred to as smart displays, or digital windows (DWs). One promising application for DW systems relates to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) chip reading. Prior art DNA chip reading technology has relied on the use of custom photo masks. It would be desirable to provide DW based alternatives.